When it comes to content you can either curate: sharing content generated by someone else, or you can create: generating original content that someone within your organization creates. Is one better than the other? There are pros and cons to each. Consider all of the angles before you decide to create or curate content.
Creation:
Pros:
- You own it. You own the content. This means you can do whatever you want with it, and fit it to your brand messaging.
- It makes you unique. Creating original content gives your brand unique value online. When everyone is sharing the exact same content, something unique helps you stand out.
- You drive the conversation. The Internet runs on new content. The creators of the best content reap the most rewards.
Cons:
- Time. Creating content takes time. You may not have anyone on your work force that has the time necessary to really give your content the time it needs.
- Money. Creating content can be expensive. You need to pay someone to make it. If you use stock images, you need to pay for rights. The costs add up.
- It might suck. It’s entirely possible that despite your best efforts, your content might not be any good.
Curation:
Pros:
- Less time consuming. Generally, it takes less time to find and share content related to your brand than it does to create new content.
- Cost. Sharing someone else’s content will almost always be cheaper than creating your own.
- Familiarity. Content that has already proven successful with people has a higher likelihood of working for you as well.
Cons:
- You don’t own the content you share. This gives you less flexibility in terms of the use of said content.
- You’re just a face in the crowd. Usually if you share something from another site, lots of other people are sharing it too. When you curate content, you’re often going to seem like part of the pack.
- It might suck. Popular doesn’t always equal good. Sometimes popular content is lousy and will make your brand look worse in the eyes of key demographics.
- Rights. It’s entirely possible that if you share something incorrectly, like say you don’t accredit something correctly, that you could end up in legal trouble.
It’s possible, it should be noted, to create a hybrid approach that uses both original and curated content. In the end, your choice is going to come down to a number of factors including time, budget, and how much control you want to have over your content.
If you decide to take the plunge into content curation, check out our guide to Swayy, a great content curation tool.
